Americans divided on coal, won't pay more to reduce it

A new Rasmussen Reports poll shows that while the U.S. is split — and uninformed — about the use of coal in energy production, most Americans are not willing to pay higher prices in order to reduce coal consumption.

Only 20 percent of Americans correctly said that coal accounts for 40 percent of the energy produced in the U.S. Most responders — 43 percent — thought coal accounted for at least half of U.S. energy production.

At the same time, the nation seems evenly split between those who believe the government should "begin to systematically phase out the use of coal-fired power plants over the next 50 years." A third said the government should, 35 percent said it shouldn't and 31 percent didn't know.

Additionally, 48 percent of Americans have a favorable view of the coal industry, compared to 37 percent who do not.